Version of Love is out on Friday 26th June 2026
Presave the single here:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/tvpins/version-of-love?ref=release
Me and TV Pins
Our first meeting was at Stourbridge Town Hall where I was very excited and a bit nervous about performing some poems between the bands at the final gig of the tour for Spoon Speaker Man who I had met the Monday before.
Spoon Speaker Man blog link here: this includes non-muso review of the first album, ‘Aircutter’, by TV Pins
Spoon Speaker Man and TV Pins – Sarah L Dixon Writer
Stourbridge Town Hall 4th April
I was a little distracted while TV Pins were playing their set as I knew I was up next. They were very good, played a focused and polished set as a coherent five-piece band. This is the first time I heard their new single, ‘Version of Love.’ and was won over by the inclusiveness, the 5 vocals and the poppy bounce and bassline of this new song.
I swapped a book for a CD at the desk. I do love being able to use my book as barter in moments of creative exchange and this was a particularly good deal for me as I love the ‘Aircutter’ album and felt inspired to write the non-muso review of this album below:
Wolverhampton TV Pins & Keeley
1st May, The Giffard Arms
After listening to ‘Aircutter’ a lot over the next fortnight I was excited to realise I could get across to Wolves for the double-header gig with Keeley and Kerry Worton support on 1st May. Later on I realised EMF were on just up the road too and I wangled a guestlist ticket for that gig too… when I got there with Christophe it turned out EMF had changed their set times so we really didn’t need to leave a couple of songs before the end of the TV Pins set. I hope I get to catch Keeley somewhere soon because they were good company and I overheard some of the soundcheck and enjoyed them.
The band seemed more relaxed, less tense at this gig, smiling and interacting more maybe because they were headline status rather than support, maybe just because they had more practice playing together. I didn’t have chance to catch up with the band later and they thought I would be at Loopfest in Shrewsbury the next day but I was traveling back to go to an afternoon acoustic gig in Leeds (The Hall Bros at Seven Arts).
It was great to see Kerry with a band as well as I had seen her play with Spoon Speaker Man and solo as support of SSM at The Parish.
IPO Festival Liverpool
I arrived first because I never trust trains and wanted to catch some of the earlier bands too. It turns out I was in the wrong room for the first two bands and that there was some kind of Yorkshire Bands Festival too…
After not having time to catch up with TV Pins after the Giffard gig I saw their posts about the International Pop Overthrow Festival in Liverpool and this is usually only 70 minutes from Huddersfield by train (when the trains are behaving). This weekend the trains were rubbish so the journey involved an Uber to Brighouse and back too.
But, the day was totally worth the journey and I enjoyed being in a cave when the temperatures were too high for me, though we found a shady bench outside a pub for a bit. I also had chance to share my response poem to ‘Version of Love’ with 4/5ths of the band and they were all lovely about it and they were definitely the type of people where I could just be myself and feel right at home even though we had hardly met or chatted before, they were instantly accepting of me and this means a lot and being in their company was a great day out.
Brief catch-up as the Pins gather
We didn’t have much time to catch up ahead of their first set on stage in The Cavern Pub, a place a know well through many visits for Ian Prowse’s Monday Club. Their set on this stage went well but also felt a little like they were settling in and the stage wasn’t big enough really for their five piece set up and I could feel it cramped their style a little but they coped with it well. I feel as I get to know a few bands better I can pick up and feel the tensions on stage more than I ever remember doing before and catch glances between band members, subtle looks and changes in the way they stand or hold themselves.
Set 1: Cavern Pub
Food & drinks & chat & hats
Set 2: Cavern Club
This set felt more polished and like the band were enjoying having more space on stage but I could also feel some tensions because David, Director of IPO Festival was watching too and having done poetry at Monday Club I have felt the pressure of the history of Matthew Street and the Cavern spaces when performing. I am sure there was a bit of that too.
My Facebook post after spending all day with TV Pins at IPO Festival
I just want to tell you about my new favourite band. I have seen them play 3 times since Shiiine (in Stourbridge, Wolves and Liverpool (2 sets at The Cavern) and there are a few reasons Iove them.
1. They are 5 singer-song writers in one band and I love the way their songs loop from letting one instrument or voice own the space to building to a harmonic and instrumental climax that feels impossible for a 5-piece band to achieve.
2. No song or lyrics on ‘Aircutter’ sound the same as the others and I can hear Bowie, Prowsey and Television here, to name just three.
3. I spent a day in Liverpool with them and the easy acceptance mentioned in their new single, Version of Love, due out on 26th June, was evident in these actions and my inclusion in their day. I shared my response poem to version of love and they each told me what they liked about it. We talked candidly, without small talk, of passions, life and the important things, we bought food, drank beer, wore hats and we connected.
4. I took photos of the band, candid ones and stage ones too. Felt honoured to be able to record these early gigs.
5. Aircutter is their first album but it is invested with all the band members’ musical histories brought together and this is tangible and exciting.
Most notable is the space they give each other to shine but also when they all build beautiful moments of cohesion together. It feels playful, controlled and crafted all at the same time.
I am looking forward to the new single, Version of Love, and hearing all five vocals live is something else!!
Check out TV Pins. They deserve to be better known and you will thank me for their soundtrack being in your life.
My response poem to ‘Version of Love’
Above is a link to my poem on Soundcloud.
The poem in text is below:
My Version of Love My version of love is photos of magpies, dandelions and donkeys as ‘missing you’ shorthand. …is full-on, intense affection, an easy falling for the energy or conversation of a person. My version of love is the blue flash of kingfisher wing over the millpond after the relief of rain on a hot summer’s day. My version of love lights up a room, lives fully its best life, dances itself out in giddy reunions. Beguiles others, sometimes. My version of love is calling a raven by your name. My version of love greets nettles, Woodlice and strangers as friends. My version of love is often questioned or responded to with silence by those overwhelmed by it. My version of love is an exchange of creative gabble, a tumbling towards truth as words resist spell-check as they demand to be sent. My version of love is dedication to badge hats, acid scarves, my crow necklace. …is chaotic but focused, fleeting but loyal, episodic but continuous. My version of love is fierce and bold, it cannot be bottled, explained in a diagram or pinned down and dissected. I am still making sense of my version of love. My version of love has no patience for small talk it is all for shared passions, struggles and hopes. My version of love is often platonic, but most certainly flirts. My version of love is linked to lyrics, sings out across empty dancefloors, is a drumbeat rhythm of my heart. My version of love is the way long-necked ducks walk, the askance stance of a surprised badger. …is waving at trains even if no-one waves back. My version of love walks through the world with a bounce of happy heels, dressed like a disco, ready for hugs. And I made a zine at a writing workshop for Ink Spill at Head of Steam on Huddersfield Station.
I feature in the single video
I don’t sing and find it hard to mime, so I found recording some footage to be spliced into the video an experience that was way out of my comfort zone but I overcame this and with a little guidance from Si after a first attempt that was lacklustre, nervous and reserved I attempted a second take and sent that over thinking if that was no good I wouldn’t be doing another but it was exactly what they wanted. The link for the video will be live here on Friday 26th June:
https://youtu.be/DBWrxsmGZog?si=cAb2FioXreX1Q6M3
TV Pins love for my poem
Si from TV Pins on Sarah D’s Version of Love
‘So much I love about this poem.
First , in such playful creative ways she paints a picture to the listener that hits pastoral, sensual and vulnerable themes which at the same time are both personal and universal!
Secondly, I’m flattered that our music and lyrics can be inspiring to another and bring out creativity and what the message of TV Pins is as a band; Harmony, Connection and Thrills.
Thank you Sarah!
Si XX’
Duncan TV Pins:
‘I love Sarah L. Dixon’s poetic response to Version of Love.
She writes from the heart, always alive, always thoughtful, with lyricism and imagery that draws you in and connects you to her world and your own.’
Miles from TV Pins
‘We all have our own version of love. Sarah L Dixon’s is full of word-meadows and lush, homespun epiphanies.’
One final note…
I am really hoping to be able to share my Version of Love poem with TV Pins fans at one of their gigs some time soon, so I will look into how we can make this happen… I will keep you posted.
In the meantime, go and do yourselves a favour, listen on Spotify and then go and buy yourself a single or album to support TV Pins.
Bandcamp for virtual version above.
Sarah L Dixon Writer 
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